Swivel joint



July 19, 1949. w, w MUELLER 2,476,617

IIIIIIIII N'l' FIG? 2 Fla-'5 Fla-5 QK/l/MZZM', INVENTOTL )fddzw ATTO'R MEY Patented July 19, 1949 Phil"it".NT

' invent i SWIVEL JOINT Waiter thither) nou'giastim, Y. Application September 9, 194s, serial No.50L6l7 headed tools suchas screwdrivers, hand drills,

braces, etc, and for other articles. Another objt isto make such swivel joints cheaply so that they can be applied to normally low-cost articles which could not heretofore be provided with swivel-heads owing t the expensivenem of swivel joints used hereto-fore. further object is to make such, joints strong and durable so as to withstand the stresses and strains imposed thereon during use. A still further object is to make such joints readily i'eihovable at will but not removable by accident. v

. Broadly the invention comprises using a lockring to make a swivel joint between two article parts having cooperating concentric cylindrical surfaces, the lockring being disposed in or parallel-to' the plane of swivelling. H

The objects, advantages and details of the invention will bebetter understood from the following description read in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, in which Fig. 1 shows a longitudinal section of a screwdriver, Fig. 2 shows an enlarged view of the head of the screwdriver of Fig. 1,.Fig. 3 shows a vertical section through a swivel-stool, Fig. 4 shows a longitudinal section of a crank and handle, and Fig. 5 shows a split ring lockring, like numerals indicating like parts.

Referring to Figs. 1 and 2, the screwdriver consists of a body portion I, a metal point 2, and a swivel-head 3. The body and head may be made of metal, wood, glass, Bakelite or other plastic. The body portion I is cut back at the head end to make a shoulder 4 and a central projecting portion having a flat end 5 and a cylindrical side surface 6 in which a U-shaped circumferential groove 1 is cut in a plane parallel to the flat end 5, i. e., perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the screwdriver body I. The screwdriver head 3 has a fiat inner surface 8 (which contacts the body end surface 5) and also has a longitudinally projecting cylindrical portion having an outer surface 9, inner surface I0 (which contacts body end projecting surface 6), and a lower shoulderabutting edge II (which contacts the body shoulder 4).

A semi-circular sectioned groove I2 is out around the inner cylindrical surface I0 of the head 3, in position to cooperate with groove 1 around the body end surface 6. A split springsteel lockring I3 prevents the head 3 from coming off the body portion I. A sufficient clearance,

to an. improved swivel 1 Claim. (01. ash-91f 2 such as .001 inch, is provided between edge It and shoulder 4, and between surfaces 6 and I0, to permit easy swivelling but without w'obblir'ig".

The dimensions of the lockring. I3 and grooves I and I2 will of course vary according to the size and type of swivel-jointed article used, but, for illustration, it may be mentioned that for a metal screwdriver as shown Fig. 1 having an overall length of about 4% inches and a body diameter of inch, the lockring 13 may be made of spring steel wire stock 1 5 inch in thickness. The shoul der '4 may be inch wide and the grooves I and I2 inay be i s"+.007 inch wide, groove 7 being %"+.007 inch deep and groove I2 being inch deep, said .007 in. clearances being to permit radial sliding of the lockring and relative rotation of the swivel parts.

If preferred, the lockring may have a cross section other than round, such as square, flatrectangular (either longitudinal or cross) or oval shaped, etc., the grooves having of course a corresponding shape.

In order to attach the head 3 to the body portion I, the lockring I3, is slid onto the projecting end surface of the body portion. I, and is compressed into the groove I in the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2 in which the outer edge of the lockring is flush with the cylindrical end surface 6. Then the head 3 is pushed ontothe end surface 6 until the lower edge II of the head abuts snugly on the body shoulder 4, in which position the head groove l2 will cooperate with and be directly opposite the body groove I, and the lockring will spring outwardly until its outer half is in the head groove I2 and its inner half is in body groove 1.

In order to remove the head 3 from the body portion I, a steel or other suitable pin must be inserted in one or more radially positioned holes I4, penetrating from outer surface 9 to the groove I2 in the inner surface ID of the cylindrical portion of the head 3. By pressing in the pin(s) in such holes I4, the lockring I3 is compressed flush with the surface 6 of the body end, and the head 3 can then be pulled off without difliculty.

In Fig. 3, showing a vertical section of a swivel-- stool, the base I5 supports a main trunk or body portion I6, near the upper end of which a collar I! is mounted by means of a through-bolt I8, and a seat l9 attached to seat support 20 is placed on top of the body It so that the lower edge 2| of .the seat support 20 rests on the body collar I1, and if desired the inside surface 22 of the seat support 20 also rests snugly on the upper end of the body I6. A lockring I3 and grooves 1 and I2 similar to those shown in Fig. 2 but larger, are used to hold the seat support 20 on the body 16.

In Fig. 4, showing a crank handle, the handle which may be made of wood, metal, plastic such as polystyrene, polyvinyl chloride and/or acetate, etc., is locked onto the crank 24, preferably made of metal, by means of lockring and grooves similar to those shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 3.

When it is desired to lock thehandle or other swivel part permanently onto the other part, it is not necessary to provide any holes such as holes M as shown in Fig. 2 for inserting pins to compress the lockring.

If much pressure is exerted between the contacting surfaces of the swivel joints, 2. lubricant may be applied thereto in order to reduce friction, i. e., in Fig. 2 at shoulder 4, on surface 6, and in lockring groove i2. Such lubricant, if fluid, may be injected through holes 14 from time to time during use. Also if desired the pressurebearing surfaces may be provided with ball bearings or roller bearings. 1

Although the invention has been described in detail in connection with certain particular tools and articles, it may also be applied to many other types of swivel joints, such as for: spiral pressure-turning screwdrivers, auto gearshaft lever handles, bicycle pedals, swivel-seated chairs. motorcycle handle bar grips, wheels for various types of vehicles such as autos, wagons, baby buggies, toy wagons, etc;

It is not intended thatthis invention be limited to the specific embodiments or materials suggested merely for the sake of illustration, but the appended claim is intended to cover all embodiments and equivalents coming within the scope and spirit of the invention.

I claim:

A swivel handled screw-driver comprising a split lockring, and a solid inner body portion and a hollow outer handle having cooperating concentric cylindrical surfaces fitting just loosely enough to permit rotation of the handle and body portion relative to each other in a plane perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of said cylindrical surfaces and to permit sliding of said surfaces longitudinally, said surfaces having coopcrating circumferential grooves therein parallel to the plane of rotation and having a width sub- 4 stantially the same as that of the lockring, the inner one of said grooves having a depth about equal to the diametral thickness of the lockring and the outer groove having only about half as great a depth, said surfaces being adapted to be prevented by said lockring from sliding longitudinally due only to stress or accident, said lockring being adapted during assembly of the body portion and handle to be forced under stress into the deeper of said twogrooves, and to assume an unremovable locking position when said body portion and said handle are assembled,

said body portion having on the portion projecting inside the handle a flat pressure-bearing end parallel to the plane of rotation, and said handle having a flat inner pressure-bearing surface 1 which contacts said body and surface when the handle is locked on the body portion, said body portion also having near the handle end a flat pressure-bearing shoulder parallel to the lane of rotation, and the lower portion of said handle havin a flat pressure-bearing shoulder-abutting edge which contacts the body shoulder when the handle is locked on the body portion, said handle also having at least one hole through it from the outer surface to the lockring groove for inserting a lockring-compressing pin to unlock the swivel joint.

WALTER W. MUELLER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Germany Oct. 3, 1938 

